CLEVELAND -- Saturday, May 4 is free comic book day, a day where special edition comic books are handed out for free across the country.

Cleveland is no exception. At Carol and John's Comic Book Shop they are ready to pass out 20,000 free comics. Last year 2,000 people came through the shop in one day.

The fun starts early with a midnight release party. Comic fans dress in costume can enjoy a special brewed beer for the occasion.

"We have 20 different sketch artists coming out to do sketches for The Hero Initiative, which is a charity organization for older comic creators that can't support themselves anymore," says John Dudas, Owner of Carol & John's Comic Book Shop.

All the fun has a purpose.

"To bring new people into the comic book shop," Dudas continues. "To bring people back into the comic book shop that have lapsed in their collecting and to reward regular collectors something very unique and a gift for them."

With movies like "Iron Man 3" and "The Man of Steel," pop culture has hit the mainstream.

"These are being created by people who loved comics when they were kids, so these people are dictating culture, they are producing it," Dudas explains.

51 different comic books were created for the day.

"That sense of community around the hobby is actually what the weekend is about and that's what they are excited about," Dudas says. "It's a whole great weekend for us kind of people."